An Unstable Balance
by Toxic PhlameZ
Summary: Goldkit isn't your typical cat. He's two toned; one half of his body is one color, with the other being a different color. That's not all. In addition to being two toned, he has split personalities to go along with both halves. Follow this young tom as he struggles to cope with his rare condition.
1. Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES **

**LEAFCLAN**

Leader:

Cherrystar – beautiful red-furred she-cat with white splotches along her flank and white paws; blue eyes

Deputy:

Cloudfur – white tom with emerald eyes

Warriors:

Ivyclaw – brown she-cat with white paws and amber eyes

Leafshade – black tom with white chest and green eyes

Foxstrike – orange colored tom with black paws and white chest

Ravenfur – purplish-black she-cat with piercing blue eyes

Fireclaw – golden tabby tom with a white paw and green eyes

Apprentices:

Sunpaw – golden tom with emerald eyes

Medicine Cat:

Doveheart – pretty white she-cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Shadecloud – black she-cat with blue eyes (Smokekit/Goldkit – two toned tom; black tom with blue eyes, golden tom with emerald eyes)

Sparrowwing – russet colored she-cat with single white paw (Thrushkit and Mousekit)

**BOULDERCLAN**

Leader:

Eaglestar – massive brown tabby tom with piercing amber eyes

Deputy:

Cinderfur – gray she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors:

Bramblestrike – dark brown tom with green eyes

Iceheart – white she-cat with black tail-tip and green eyes

Frostclaw – white she-cat with green eyes

Squirrelfang – light-brown tom with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Fuzzpaw – fluffy golden tom with dark-green eyes

Medicine Cat:

Pebblepelt – dark-gray tom with green eyes

**DARKCLAN**

Leader:

Blackstar – black she-cat with white paws; green eyes

Deputy:

Leopardclaw – gray tom with black spots

Warriors:

Ashpelt – dark-gray tom

Snakefoot – brown tom with white paws

Thunderheart – golden she-cat with piercing yellow eyes

Apprentices:

Brownpaw – dark brown she-cat with white ears and tail

Gustpaw – light gray she-cat with white streaks across her fur

Medicine Cat:

Grassfur – light-brown tom with copper eyes

**MOONCLAN**

Leader:

Lightstar – pretty grayish-white she-cat amber eyes

Deputy:

Cloudstep – white she-cat

Warriors:

Silvershine – beautiful light-gray she-cat with piercing blue eyes

Featherfoot – dark-gray tom with blue eyes

Fogheart – white she-cat with gray paws and tail

Stripedfur – light gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Medicine Cats:

Softfur – pretty gray she-cat with green eyes

Sootpaw – dark gray tabby tom

Queens:

Brightpelt – fluffy grayish-white she-cat with light blue eyes (Mumblekit, Windkit, and Featherkit)


	2. Chapter One

Chapter 1

"So, let me get this straight." Doveheart growled, flicking her ear irritably. "You went outside of camp."

"Yes." I meowed, staring at the medicine cat, my eyes glistening.

"And you found something that looked interesting; a plant?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't know what it was?"

"Not at all."

"So you decided to _eat_ it?"

"Correct."

"And now you're here to complain to me about having bellyache?"

"Right again." I mewed, my eyes sparkling. Doveheart huffed angrily, and she began sniffing my muzzle, flicking her ears.

"For the record, it was Smokekit's idea." I offered, twitching my whiskers as Doverheart's breath stirred my muzzle fur. I had to admit, it'd been fun. Smokekit and I had been cooped up inside the camp for the past quarter moon! What did the Clan expect us to do, sit in the nursery like obedient little kits?

_Oh, man. We're in so much trouble! What do you think Shadecloud will do? _That was Smokekit talking, or rather _thinking._ We share each other's thoughts; it's like we're one cat, sharing one brain.

_I don't know. She'll probably claw off our ears! _I hissed back, my pelt bristling slightly with irritation. _All I wanted to do was go outside of camp! Why'd you have to make me eat that plant? _

_ It looked interesting! _Smokekit protested. _How was I to know what it'd do? _

"Alright," Doveheart meowed. She seemed calmer now, her ruffled fur lying flat, though her tail was still twitching. "It seems you ate beech leaves. Luckily they have no effect, but you ate a lot of them; explaining your bellyache. I'll give you some mallow leaves, and then you're off." She turned around and padded toward an area surrounded by carefully woven brambles, tail in the air.

"What are mallow leaves?" Smokekit blurted, my mouth dropping open as he talked.

"How should I know?" I returned, flicking my ears. "And I've told you before, Smokekit; let me know when you're going to talk beforehand! My mouth moving without my saying so feels… weird."

"In case you hadn't noticed, it's _our_ mouth." Smokekit countered, my fur bristling with his irritation. "This isn't your body, it's _ours_. Do we need to take another trip to a puddle?"

"No, we don't." I sighed. We both knew very well about our… _condition_. We were two toned, as Doveheart called it. Our bodies were two different colors; the left side being black, with the right side being gold. Even our eyes were different colors. Smokekit shared the black side, while I shared the gold. We often had to work together to complete certain actions, such as walking and eating. But, sometimes, one of us could control our whole body against the other's will. It was like we could push each other around. Even though we could do that, we can only do it for short periods of time; like if one of us wants to talk. If one of us tries to control the other for a long period of time, it causes us extreme headaches; sometimes we even passed out from the strain. Doveheart had warned us that one cat trying to overpower the other was dangerous; that it 'put a lot of strain on our brain'. If we pushed too far, we could even kill ourselves!

Doveheart came back out of the den, carrying a bundle of furry leaves in her jaws. She set them in front of us, and we sniffed at them uncertainly.

"They smell sweet." Smokekit remarked.

"Like roses." I added. We both reached down carefully and scooped the leaves into our mouth, chewing slowly. They tasted sweet, too. Swallowing the herbs, we felt our stomach clench tightly.

"Why isn't it working?" Smokekit demanded, flicking our tails.

"It's not going to take effect immediately." Doveheart mewed, her tail swaying with annoyance. "You have to give it time." She gently pushed us toward the entrance, our paws dragging in the dirt. "Off you go, then. I can't have you messing up my den." She gently nudged us the last few mouse-lengths. "And, Goldkit?" she added.

"Yes?" I meowed, twitching my ears.

"Try to keep Smokekit from being such a mouse-brain!" she purred. She disappeared into the medicine den, flicking her tail as she went.

"Hey!" Smokekit protested, his mew indignant. "I'm not a mouse-brain!"

"Uh, you kind of are." I replied slyly.

"Whatever." Smokekit mumbled. We padded slowly across the clearing, padding some-what awkwardly toward the nursery. When we padded through the entrance, we were met with Shadecloud's stern glare.

"Uh oh." Smokekit and I mewed at once.

**I know it's a little shaky, but it'll get better later on. In case you're confused, Smokekit and Goldkit aren't two separate cats. They don't have two heads, or two tails. They're ONE cat; they're just both different personalities for one body. Look up 'two toned cat' on Google to get a basic understanding. **

**As always, I look forward to your reviews! Until my next update, I will see you guys, when I see you guys…**

**Toxic out!**


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

_Maybe if we stay still, she won't see us. _I suggested, freezing my paws to the ground.

_Doveheart was right; you are a mouse-brain!_ Goldkit mewed back, twitching our tail.

"So, what's this I hear about you two sneaking out of camp?" she inquired, lashing her tail in anger.

"How'd you know?" Goldkit asked, twitching our ears.

"I'm your mother," Shadecloud meowed. "I know you."

Goldkit and I padded pass our mother, laying down in our nest. It was big, with feathers lining the edges, the moss feeling comfortable under-paw. We lay our head on our paws, staring sulkily ahead.

"It was Smokekit's idea." Goldkit protested, flicking his ear.

"Guilty as charged!" I mewed happily. It didn't matter to me if I got in trouble; it'd be worth it. Too long we had been stifled inside this cramped nursery. It was even more crowded now that Sparrowwing had kitted Mousekit and Thrushkit. Goldkit and I had barely enough room to play! It was even worse, because Thrushkit and Mousekit were growing; they were reaching their second moon. _Just two more moons before we're apprenticed!_

_ And how exactly do you expect us to be apprenticed? _Goldkit asked. _We're two different cats, does that mean we'll have two different mentors?_

_ I hope not. _I replied. _And for StarClan's sake, Goldkit, don't eavesdrop on my thoughts! _

_That's kind of hard to do with our current situation. _He replied, his voice sounding annoyed. We looked down at are symmetrical paws, one paw being black, the other being gold. I heaved a sigh, flicking our ears crossly. Sometimes I just wondered what it would be like to be a separate cat, to make my own decisions, to take my own actions. Goldkit and I were stuck together; two cats in one. However much I wanted to change that, I knew it wouldn't happen.

Suddenly a ball of moss hit us on the head, and we turned around sharply. Thrushkit and Mousekit were tussling together in their nest, batting at each other softly with their small paws. Sparrowwing sat nearby, watching her kits, eyes full of love.

_Want to join them? _I asked Goldkit, swaying our tail in the air.

_Sure, why not? _Goldkit replied. Getting to our paws, we began trotting our way over toward our den-mates.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shadecloud asked, a small edge to her voice. She grabbed our scruff and began padding back toward our nest.

"We just want to play!" Goldkit protested, flailing our arms in the air.

"Not yet." Shadecloud purred, setting us down in the moss. She began licking us between the ears. "You need to be groomed first. Your pelts look awful! Especially yours, Smokekit."

I stared down at my pelt, the black fur standing slightly on end, like I was bristling. "I like the way it looks!" I mewed. I often spent a lot time grooming my pelt the way I wanted it; fur sticking out in small clumps. Goldkit often complained of having my fur clumped in his mouth, but I ignored him. It didn't necessarily look _matted_. Just_… fuzzy_.

Shadecloud began grooming our pelts, curling her tail around our back in case I tried to take over and escape. I wiggled, but I couldn't stop her from moving on to y side, as well. I fidgeted, mewling in protest. My movements were making the grooming uncomfortable, but I still fidgeted.

_Would you stop? _Goldkit hissed crossly. _You're making it uncomfortable for me, too! _I could feel him trying to take over; to get my legs to stop moving.

_No! I like my fur just the way it is! _I hissed back, still trying to move my legs, at the same time Goldkit trying to keep me still.

Suddenly, a small pain began to sprout inside our head. The more we struggled with each other, the greater the pain grew. It kept getting larger and larger, until it rocked our whole body, blotting out everything.

_Stop it! _Goldkit screeched, voice thick with agony. _You're hurting us! _He desperately tried to keep our paws still, but I still kept moving.

"What's happening?" Shadecloud mewed anxiously. She'd stopped grooming, staring down at us, eyes full of concern. Our body had begun to twitch, though neither Goldkit nor I were trying to move. We stopped struggling with each other, though the pain in our heads kept growing. Finally, it wasn't bearable any longer. Both Goldkit and I let out agonized screeches, falling to the floor, clutching our head with our paws. Our vision began to blur, a feeling of fuzziness gripping our body.

"Is something wrong?" Thrushkit asked, peeking up from Mousekit, his paw still gripped on her ear. "I want to see!" she got to her paws, trotting towards us.

"Keep back!" Sparrowwing growled. She got to her paws and circled her body around her kits, looking nervously at our convulsing form.

Shadecloud stared down at us, her eyes horrified. "Doveheart!" she called, voice laced with fear. Our vision was turning dark, everything turning to shadow, blurring together until it was all one black blob.

Our eyes closing, the last thing we saw was Shadecloud's distorted shape racing out of the nursery.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Darkness surrounded me, trees blooming from the ground, whistling in the gentle breeze. My paws were touching soft earth, and I looked down to see lush tufts of grass swaying gently. The air smelled of grass and prey, the tantalizing scent filling my nostrils. Stars glittered overhead, twinkling in the night sky, illuminating the landscape with patches of light.

I stared around, amazed and confused. Where was I? I padded forward, gazing around at the forest that surrounded me. I couldn't remember anything; it was all a blur. I recalled my head feeling fuzzy and disappearing into darkness, and then waking up here. Was I in StarClan?

Suddenly a familiar scent drifted into my nostrils, and in the dim gloom I could see a pair of icy blue eyes staring at me, the black pelt instantly recognizable.

"Smokekit!" I exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief. Smokekit didn't reply, just stared at me, confused and horrified. He circled me, staring at me as if I had just sprouted an extra head. "What's wrong?" I asked.

Smokekit stopped pacing, coming to a halt in front of me. His fur was bristling, and his ears were pressed flat against his head. "We're… _separate_." He croaked, pointing with his paw at my body.

I stared sown at my body, gasping in shock and amazement at the sight. Instead of black and gold coming down my pelt, striking me in half, a whole golden pelt was there, fur ruffling slightly in the chilly night air. I looked up and stared into Smokekit's gaze, my wonder reflected in his blue depths. I staggered back a few fox-lengths, hardly catching myself from falling over.

_Separate_. The word seemed unnatural, alien. How could this be? My whole life I had been different; two cats in one body, bound to one another like the sun and moon. Now I was separate, free to make my own decisions, to think freely. I stared at the ground, puzzled. I could hear pawsteps approaching me, and I glanced up to see Smokekit. His eyes were wistful, and he settled himself next to me, lying in the grass.

"We're… separate." He repeated, staring at the ground. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know." I replied, my voice catching in my throat. I shuffled my paws in the grass, willing Smokekit to say something.

"Well, this has to be a dream." He remarked, flicking his tail at the starry sky. "But why are we separate? And what is this place?"

I didn't answer, just stood and surveyed the surrounding area. There were no signs of life, only the stillness held in the swaying trees. Dew glittered on the grass, making it seem as if stars were trapped in the small stalks.

"Whatever this place is," I meowed. "We should probably try to find a way out."

As I finished speaking, a sudden bright light shone in the sky, casting an intensity on the ground below. I closed my eyes, and I could hear Smokekit mew in pain from the sudden outburst. An abrupt fuzzy feeling began to envelope my body, making my fur stand on end. Collapsing to the ground, I covered my eyes with my paws, willing the brightness above to go away.

My eyes flew open and I gasped. My heart was racing, my fur bristling. I looked around to see Doveheart standing over me, her blue eyes staring worriedly at me. Herb-scent filled my nose, and I realized I was in the medicine den. Muffled mews were coming from outside the camp, the Clan buzzing with activity.

"What happened?" I questioned, bringing my gaze to Doveheart's. Her eyes were now annoyed, her ears flicking irritably.

"You two bickering is what happened!" she growled, settling herself in front me. Her white fur was bristling, and she lashed her tail. "Honestly, do you two think I have nothing better to do than constantly treat you two for your skirmishes?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Smokekit and I had fought? When? I stared at Doveheart quizzically, and her eyes widened.

"Y-you don't remember?" she asked, her ears swaying. Her head was tilted to the side, gazing at me curiously.

"Remember what?" I asked. I tilted my head to the side, confused. What should I be remembering?

"Goldkit, you and Smokekit got into an argument. You had a seizure. I had to use most of my feverfew just to calm you down, and all my chamomile and juniper berries are gone; they were used to treat you."

I stared blankly at Doveheart, my mind racing with questions. I had no idea what any of the herbs she just named did, but from the tone of her voice I could tell she was serious about this. I was about to mew a reply, when I suddenly let out a groan.

"Ugh, what happened?" Smokekit meowed. He twitched our tail and sat up, looking around. "Where are we?"

I could feel my mind cloud with confusion. Smokekit had been unconscious? I'd figured he'd just decided to shut up for once!

"We're in the medicine den." I explained, settling us back down. "Apparently we fought again."

Smokekit turned our gaze to Doveheart. The medicine was staring at us sternly, though worry softened her gaze a little. She let out a weary sigh. "What have I told you two about fighting each other? Haven't I explained what happens?"

"Would you care to remind us again?" Smokekit asked, scratching his ear with his foot. He tilted our head, staring curiously at Doveheart.

Doveheart sighed again. She flicked her ear, kneading the ground beneath her with a white paw. "I can't tell you as if you were a medicine cat; you wouldn't understand." She got to her paws and flicked her ears, looking thoughtful. "Okay, when you two fight, your conflicting actions damage your brain. Simply put, it gets confused; your body doesn't know which action to follow, and which to ignore. If it goes on for too long, you two have a seizure like you did.

Each time you fight, the condition gets worse. I had to use mostly all of my herbs for head trauma on you two. Think of it this way: your brain is like a ball of moss. Your actions are two different paws pulling that moss in two different directions. Each time you fight, the paws pull harder. Eventually, those paws will pull the moss apart, ripping it in half. If you two keep getting into these skirmishes, you _will_ die. Understand?"

Both Smokekit and I swallowed, nodding our head nervously. We'd been told of the consequences of our fighting, but it seemed the realization was finally settling in. Sooner or later, if we didn't stop our disagreements, we were going to die. I could feel Smokekit thinking the same thought as I was: Shadecloud.

Our mother would be devastated if we were to pass. I didn't want to cause her that much pain, especially just because Smokekit and I have a disagreement. _We have to stop, Smokekit. We can't fight anymore; for the sake of Shadecloud. _

_Alright, fine. _Smokekit answered. _As long as I can keep my fur the way I like it! _

_Fine! Just no more arguing, agreed? _

_Sure, whatever._

"Alright, Doveheart," I mewed, trying to sound as earnest as I could. "We'll try not to fight anymore."

Doveheart's eyes brightened a little, and her tongue rasped over our head. I could feel our body stiffen, though it was Smokekit that was tense.

"Hey!" he protested, ducking under Doveheart's tongue. "What'd you that for?"

"Never mind why I did it." Doveheart mewed. "Go outside and play. You must be restless." She padded outside into the clearing, her tail swishing through the entrance.

Smokekit and I followed, slowly putting one paw in front of the other. Before we reached the entrance, Shadecloud's head burst the through, her eyes round with worry. She rushed forward, covering our face in licks, purring loudly.

"I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed, pressing her cheek against ours. "I thought I was going to lose both of you." Her eyes were watering, but she blinked back the tears. Instead she licked us between the ears. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"But I bet Fireclaw isn't." Smokekit muttered bitterly, our fur rising. Fireclaw was our father. He and Shadecloud had been mates; they still were. But Fireclaw showed little interest in me and Smokekit, obviously because of our condition. We didn't even think he had ever talked to us. Mother insisted that he was just grieving: he would be friendly toward us when he was ready. It'd been so long since Shadecloud had said that that now Smokekit and I hardly cared anymore.

"He does care," Shadecloud insisted, her ears flattening against her head. "He just has his own way of showing it." As she spoke, she turned around, her gaze following the golden tom as he sat near the fresh-kill pile, eating a squirrel. She turned back to us and escorted us out of the medicine den, her gaze clouded with some expression we couldn't read.

I was about to mew something when a voice sounded behind us.

"Hey, Goldkit, Smokekit!"

It was Sunpaw, our best friend in the Clan. He didn't mind our condition like some cats did, never shooting us dirty looks or refusing to look at us altogether.

"Hey, Sunpaw!" Smokekit meowed, sounding much happier than he did a few moments ago. He scurried over to the gold tom, dragging me with him. We leaped on top of Sunpaw, the tom collapsing to the ground with an _oof!_

"What are going to play today?" Smokekit asked eagerly, swaying our tail excitedly in the air. He growled playfully, pricking Sunpaw's skin with our tiny claws. I couldn't help but feel excited, too. Sunpaw was very creative, coming up with extremely fun games to play during his free time.

This time, however, the young tom's gaze wasn't so well lit. "Sorry, but Leafshade is taking me hunting me hunting right now." He flicked his tail at the black tom waiting by the entrance. "I'll have to play later."

Both Smokekit and I groaned in disappointment, leaping off our golden friend. He stood, his fur clumped with dust. He shook his pelt, debris scattering around him.

"Hey, cheer up guys." He mewed, flicking our ears with his tail. "Look, I promise we'll play when I get back, okay?"

"Okay." We muttered sulkily. We watched him go, his tail disappearing into the bushes.

Even though Smokekit and I were disappointed, we had something to look forward to for the day.

**Alright, guys. That's going to do it for this chapter. I'm exhausted; it's about 10:30pm right now. I just wanted to thank you guys for all your support on Silver Legend. The amount of follows and favorites I got yesterday was staggering, I ****_really_**** appreciate it. **

**As always, I look forward to your reviews. Until my next update, I will see you guys, when I see you guys.**

**Toxic out. **


	5. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Goldkit hissed, pricking our ears as we padded stealthily through the forest. The sky was a shade of dark purple and orange, the sun just peeking over the horizon. I darted forward, leaping silently into a bush.<p>

I didn't really care if we got caught. We were kits; it was natural for us to be mischievous.

_Oh, come on, Goldkit,_ I growled playfully, leaping in the air. _Don't be such a badger! You've got to learn to have fun!_

_I know how to have fun! _Goldkit hissed. _I just don't see the need to have to constantly sneak out! We could get into so much trouble!_

"But, Goldkit!" I purred, making sure my voice contained mock innocence. "The best kind of fun is the type you can get into trouble for having!"

Goldkit scoffed, unsheathing our claws with unease. I could tell he was having fun, he was just trying to hide it. I needed to make him laugh, to show that there were more ways to have fun than playing moss ball in the clearing with Sunpaw and the others. Once I showed him exciting the forest could be, we'd be sneaking out of camp all the time!

"What do you want to do?" I asked, glancing around the landscape, looking for something that could potentially be fun for us to play with. I spotted a few plants growing close to a tree trunk, dark purple stalks swaying gently in the wind. I walked over to the plant, giving it a wary sniff.

"What I want is to go back to camp." Goldkit growled, jerking our head backwards, away from the plant, causing us to nearly fall over. "We shouldn't be out here eating plants, especially after what happened last time with those beech leaves!"

"You mean how they had no effect on us?" I purred smugly, glancing around for something else.

"Doveheart said that the _plants _have no effect." Goldkit insisted. "She never said that we were immune to it." We leaped onto a small rock, gazing down at the small patch of grass that lay below. "Can we go back to camp now?"

"In a minute," I replied. "I want to check something."

"What?" Goldkit growled irritably.

"That." I mewed back, pointing our tail toward a small body of water lying several foxlengths away. I leaped down from the rock and trotted over to the small pond, the scents of plants strong in the air. A thick cluster of herbs grew closely together by the water's edge, the stalks towering tail-lengths over our head. At the top lay a small group of tiny white flowers, the leaves glistening in the sunlight.

"What do you think it is?" I asked Goldkit, staring in awe at the tall plant. Its scent filled our nostrils, smelling strongly of water and mud.

"I don't know." Goldkit snarled, flicking our tail. "But what I can tell you is what Cherrystar and Shadecloud will do to us if we don't get back to camp _now!_"

"Calm down, we'll be there before they even notice we're gone." I told Goldkit, padding closer to the tall plant. "Besides, the worst they can do is delay our apprenticeship."

"What?!" Goldkit exclaimed, his voice high-pitched with concern.

"That's the worst they can do." I explained, flicking our ears impatiently. "Even if they do, it still means we'll be apprentices; just not when we're supposed to."

"We have to go back, now!" Goldkit squeaked, trying to get our paws to back away. I kept our paws rooted to the ground, refusing to budge.

"Come on, Smokekit!" Goldkit growled. "We don't have time for this!"

"How about we make a deal?" I proposed, keeping our paws firmly in place.

"What's the deal?" Goldkit mewed, his mew desperate.

I stared at the tall plant before us, questions racing through my head. Above all, one question kept playing over and over in my mind: what does this plant taste like?

"Before we go back to camp, I get to eat this plant," I meowed, gesturing with my tail.

Goldkit glanced at the herb, stretching our eyes wide with dismay. "Fine!" he hissed, flicking our tail with impatience.

Without hesitating, I nipped the plant by the stalk and watched as it dropped to the ground. Reaching our head forward, I took the small white leaves into out mouth and began to chew.

"Yuck!" I hissed, swallowing the herb. It tasted bitter, like dirt.

"Can we go now?" Goldkit asked. I could feel his paws itching with the need to get back to camp.

"Yeah, sure." I replied, hardly finishing my sentence before Goldkit took off, sending us crashing through the undergrowth. We swerved around bushes and trees, quickly making our way back to camp.

We were almost there; I could see the bramble wall in the distance. I was about to mew something when I felt a small knot form in our stomach.

"Whoa, what is that?" Goldkit asked.

I couldn't reply. Heartbeats later, we began to feel dizzy, the world around us beginning to warp and sway.

"Smokekit, what's happening?" Goldkit meowed, his voice coming out as a slur.

"I don't know." I murmured, feeling the knot in our stomach grow even larger. "Let's just keep going."

Padding forward, and ignoring the funny feeling in our stomach, Goldkit and I pushed through the camp entrance. We were met with a group of cats standing next to the bramble wall, their eyes turning on us as we entered.

"There you are!" Sunpaw exclaimed, dashing forward. He curled his tail around our back, nuzzling our head with his nose. "Looks like we won't need that patrol after all," he meowed to Cherrystar, who was sitting at the entrance to her den. "What were you guys thinking, sneaking out of camp?" Sunpaw questioned, turning his attention back to me and Goldkit.

We looked up at Sunpaw, our eyes squinting. Sunpaw looked weird, his form rippling as if he were made of water. In fact, the whole camp seemed to be rippling, distorted images flashing across our vision.

The next thing we knew, Shadecloud was at put side, pure fury blazing in her eyes. "What is wrong with you?" she snarled. "I've been worried sick about you two!" she cuffed us over the head.

The blow felt like slamming into a rock, and me and Goldkit dropped to the floor, our head feeling fuzzy.

_What's happening? _I asked Goldkit, panic taking over our body.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Shadecloud asked, her eyes suddenly softening. Other cats began to crowd around, staring at us curiously.

Scrambling to our paws, I was about to mew something when my mouth gaped open, a mouthful of green liquid spilling onto the floor. I could feel our body shaking, our limbs trembling.

"Doveheart! Where's Doveheart?" Shadecloud meowed, glancing around the crowd of cats.

"I'm here," a voice sounded, warped and distorted, making me and Goldkit flick our ears. "What is it?"

Goldkit and I struggled to hear, straining our ears, but to no avail. Suddenly we felt something grasp our scruff, and we were being hauled over the ground.

We could hear voices sounding, and we pricked our ears to listen, only catching bits and pieces of the conversation.

"…wrong?" that was Shadecloud. Her voice sounded thick with fear, a slight tremble in her mew.

"They ate… hemlock…" Doveheart replied, her voice sounding distorted as our hearing went in and out of focus. "It's… most… poisonous plant in… forest."


End file.
